I am a morning person. I love to be up before anyone else enjoying the morning sun (or the chilly dark in winter), getting things done or just spending some time alone with a cup of coffee. I am often at my most productive just after waking up and maybe that is why breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. There is something very luxurious about enjoying a leisurely weekend breakfast in the company of people you love but weekday breakfast can also be a good time to quickly connect before everyone goes their separate ways. Truck Stop by Anne Rockwell is a book that captures the feeling of promise on a regular weekday morning. The boy in the book helps his parents prepare to open their truck stop before he heads off to catch the school bus. He squeezes oranges, flips over the Open sign, and helps to greet regular customers. Rockwell perfectly renders the sights, sounds, and scents of breakfast preparations and the easy camaraderie of a café full of “regulars”. I love that the boy in Truck Stop has an important role to play helping in his family’s business, as well as in an emergency that comes up later in the story. This is a great book for reminding kids that they are valued members of their family and their community. In the present moment, when so many local businesses are suffering, Truck Stop is a also a beautiful celebration of a family-owned business and the way it brings people together.
Discussion questions for Truck Stop by Anne Rockwell:
- What order would you choose from all the breakfasts ordered in this book?
- Would you like to help in a business like the boy in this book? What job would you want to have?
- Do you think the boy does the right thing when he recognizes Green Gus on the side of the road? Would you have done the same thing or handled it a different way?
One of my favorite breakfasts is a large homemade muffin from a local bakery in our town. They serve enormous muffins in several delectable flavors and you can choose to have them grilled and buttered so that they are warm, fluffy, and buttery. With a large cup of coffee, this is breakfast heaven to me! I always say my ideal breakfast is coffee and carbs. One of the regulars in Truck Stop orders “Orange juice, black coffee, and a blueberry muffin” which reminded me of my favorite local muffin spot. Since restaurants in our state are currently closed, it might be awhile before I can get my favorite bakery muffins, so the recipe below is my attempt to recreate these warm, fluffy masterpieces. One secret to perfect blueberry muffins is to get just the right ratio of soft, sweet muffin to crunchy crumb topping. I think this recipe gets pretty close; let me know what you think!
Blueberry Crumb Muffins
cooked-info left="taxonomies,difficulty" right="print,fullscreen"]
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, brown sugar, and melted butter until the mixture comes together in a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc, place it back in the mixing bowl and place the bowl in the freezer while you prepare the muffin batter.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 12 cup muffin pan or line it with paper cups. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oats, flours, and baking soda. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and fold together with a wooden spoon or spatula until just combined, being careful not to over-mix. Add the blueberries to the bowl with the batter and gently fold them into the batter with a rubber spatula or flat spoon.
Fill the prepared muffin cups about 3/4 full of batter. Remove the crumb topping from the freezer and crumble the disc into the bowl to create big, dry crumbs. Top each batter-filled muffin cup with about 2 Tablespoons of crumb topping. Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 25-35 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool at least 10 minutes in the pan before removing them and serving.
Ingredients
Directions
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, brown sugar, and melted butter until the mixture comes together in a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc, place it back in the mixing bowl and place the bowl in the freezer while you prepare the muffin batter.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 12 cup muffin pan or line it with paper cups. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oats, flours, and baking soda. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and fold together with a wooden spoon or spatula until just combined, being careful not to over-mix. Add the blueberries to the bowl with the batter and gently fold them into the batter with a rubber spatula or flat spoon.
Fill the prepared muffin cups about 3/4 full of batter. Remove the crumb topping from the freezer and crumble the disc into the bowl to create big, dry crumbs. Top each batter-filled muffin cup with about 2 Tablespoons of crumb topping. Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 25-35 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool at least 10 minutes in the pan before removing them and serving.
